<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Sort Of Confessions by Wackadaisicl</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28680009">Sort Of Confessions</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wackadaisicl/pseuds/Wackadaisicl'>Wackadaisicl</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Extraordinaries Series - T. J. Klune</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Canon Relationships, Established Relationship, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Post-Canon, Sort Of, that’s kinda it</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:21:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,978</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28680009</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wackadaisicl/pseuds/Wackadaisicl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Nick got home, he immediately went to do his homework. Him and Seth were planning on meeting up to do homework on Saturday but they both knew their study dates were far from productive and it’s best to get it done now. That is, until Seth asks to come over.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nicholas Bell/Seth Gray</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sort Of Confessions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So I just read The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune and it was so good so I had to write something for it! I doubt many people will read it but I just had fun writing it. Thank you to @return-of-the-gray on Tumblr for beta reading this! (I’m afraid it isn’t Seth but she’s equally cool)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Nick got home from school on Friday, he immediately went to do his homework. Well, immediately after grabbing a snack from the kitchen and watching some new YouTube videos that were uploaded while he was at school. While he technically had the whole weekend(and even Monday morning if he ended up spiraling down one of his hyperfixations that demanded his attention far more than the utter waste of time that is trigonometry), he and Seth had planned to meet up Saturday to do their homework together and they both knew their study dates were far from productive. It was best to get it done now so they could skip over the pretending and distractions and get right to just hanging out (and maybe making out, Nick wasn’t sure).</p><p> </p><p>His dad wasn’t there to pester him into staying focused so he texted Seth to hold him accountable. No offense to Dad, but he found he was more likely to do something when Seth was encouraging him and checking in every now and then to make sure he took breaks than when his dad was checking in and giving him stern looks. Plus, when he finished Seth always responded with telling him how proud he was attached to a string of emojis and if that wasn’t the most adorable thing ever, he didn’t know what was! Okay, everything Seth did could compete but that’s not the point!</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <b>startimg on hw</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>U got this! I’ll check in 30 :)</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Okay, he had 30 minutes to get a decent start. He could do this. He pulled his trigonometry and a pencil out of his backpack and got started. Except, Seth didn’t text in 30 minutes. Nick almost didn’t notice, he had successfully gotten into his productive mode but when his brain started drifting he reached for his phone to find it had been 45 minutes and no text. That’s when he got worried. What if something happened? What if someone broke into his house? What if someone found out he’s Pyro Storm and tracked him down? What if Owen broke out of his rehabilitation center and was wreaking havoc again? What if-</p><p> </p><p>His phone dinged, interrupting his thoughts.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <b>Hey, sorry Aunt wanted help with dishes. New batch of cookies for tmrw!</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <b>ur good</b>
</p><p> </p><p>It was not good, but he didn’t want Seth to feel bad for sending him into a panic.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>i got trig done</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Nice! Wat’s left?</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>He was trying to start on physics when he lost focus. He searched through his backpack to see if there was anything else. Nope, hallelujah!</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jus physics</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Cool, have you taken any breaks?</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>a few short 1s coud use a longer 1</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Not just for his brain, he needed his nerves to settle down. He felt hot and his skin was prickly and he felt gross with flop sweat. He just needed to get up and walk around a little and he’d feel better. Maybe eat something while he was at it, his stomach suddenly felt like he hadn’t eaten all day.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <b>I didn’t worry you 2 much, did I?</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>He wondered how Seth had known but chalked it up to their years of knowing each other. And because he just couldn’t lie to his boyfriend,</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <b>a lil but i’m good</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Seth didn’t respond for a minute but Nick refused to let his mind wander into ‘what ifs’ again. He just waited, staring at his phone while his leg bounced up and down of its own accord. Finally, a new message appeared.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <b>Can I come over?</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Scratch walking his nerves off, seeing Seth is so much better. He’d be right there, where Nick could see him, could hear his voice, could touch him. He checked the time. It was a little after four and by time Seth got there his dad would be soon to follow but he’d understand. Nick needed this.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <b>pls.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Omw.</b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Nick didn’t get any of his homework done while he was waiting on Seth. When he was waiting for something he couldn’t focus on anything else. It was a problem. Instead, he paced back and forth in his room. He tried watching YouTube as a distraction but he only got about halfway through a video when he realized he hadn’t processed a single thing going on. Then he moved to music but the sound was overwhelming when added to the chaos in his head so he turned it off. After about 20 minutes, he heard a knock at his door. He ran for the front door, almost tripping down the stairs but catching himself at the last minute. When he reached the hallway to the front door Seth was already letting himself in and he grinned so wide it hurt. That was his favorite face in the whole world and he didn’t want to go another minute without seeing him. Sure, he had just seen him a couple hours ago when they left school but that was already too long. When Seth saw Nick barreling towards him he laughed and Nick felt something ignite in his heart. Just a little bit closer and-</p><p> </p><p>He felt his stomach drop and he realized he was falling face first towards the ground. He managed a, “Shit-” before squeezing his eyes shut. He felt something push back on his shoulders and after a few seconds of no face-to-floor impact, he opened his eyes. Seth had one hand on each shoulder, holding him so his body was diagonal from the floor. As he looked up he saw Seth’s wide-eyed, panic-stricken face. He cleared his throat as he took back on his own weight and stood up straight, giving a sheepish smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Wow, you just fell for me,” Seth said softly. Nick’s brain short-circuited. Their close proximity didn’t help. Finally, he gave up on forming a coherent thought and just reached over his boyfriend’s shoulders to pull him into a hug. Seth squeaked but quickly reciprocated and Nick felt his worries wash away.</p><p> </p><p>“I did that awhile ago, babe,” he whispered into his ear. Seth jerked back but not far enough to break the embrace.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you really trying to be flirtatious after slipping on a rug?”</p><p> </p><p>Huh, so that’s what made him fall. He turned around to see the culprit, a colorful, wrinkled mat thrown out of place. He glared at it. Seth laughed again and suddenly Nick wasn’t so mad. That didn’t stop him from kicking it as they passed it on their way to his room, though. If Seth noticed he pretended not to, which Nick was grateful for.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry, I should’ve just texted you early in case the dishes took longer than I thought.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, it’s all good. You were just helping your aunt,” Nick replied, feeling bad for making Seth feel bad. He knew how his boyfriend’s anxiety could get and he didn’t want him to think he was mad. Seth nodded slowly, clearly not actually believing Nick. “I mean it, Seth. Don’t worry about it, I’m not mad or anything. The opposite, actually. I’m really happy to see you! I know we just saw each other a few hours ago and we were gonna see each other tomorrow anyway but I missed you and now you’re here! So… yeah! You can stop worrying. I can see it on your face, you have your worrying face on. Stop it!”</p><p> </p><p>Seth giggled. Like, actually giggled. It was the cutest thing Nick had ever heard.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright, alright!” Seth put his hands up as if surrendering. “I got it, no worrying. I’ll make sure to tell my anxiety that.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good.” They didn’t say anything for a while, they just moved to his bed and sat there, staring at each other. Seth had that glint in his eyes that made Nick’s cheeks warm. He wondered how many times Seth had given him that adoring look while he was completely oblivious. It seemed really obvious now, looking back. It helped that Gibby had started retelling every romantically charged moment he’d been oblivious to throughout the years. They couldn’t put all the blame on him, though! Seth didn’t know Nick liked him any better than Nick had. Right? He couldn’t have known, he would have said something. Wouldn’t he? <em> Right?  </em></p><p> </p><p>“Did you know?” He blurted, startling Seth.</p><p> </p><p>“Did I know what?”</p><p> </p><p>“That I liked you! Apparently it was obvious but even <em> I </em> didn’t know! Did you?” He could see Seth flush, which was really adorable. God, how had he not known when Seth was so… Seth!</p><p> </p><p>“Uh…” Nervous chuckle! That’s his nervous chuckle! Nervous chuckle is never a good sign, “No? I mean, it was complicated.”</p><p> </p><p>“Complicated? What do you mean complicated?”</p><p> </p><p>“What <em> wasn’t </em>complicated? You were literally a whole collection of mixed signals. One minute you would look at me like… I don’t know and ramble on about my bow tie and the next you would go on a rant about Shadow Star. I thought I was just making stuff up.”</p><p> </p><p>Nick suddenly felt very bad for all of the Shadow Star rants he had forced Seth to endure. And making him beta <em> This Is Where We Scorch The Earth </em> . And for “The Great Romance of Nick and Owen.” And for their argument where he clearly expressed his jealousy but Nick just thought he was being a jerk. <em> “I’m right here, you know,”  </em>he heard echo in his head. God, he’s such an idiot.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I spent too much time thinking about you in a bow tie for it to be platonic, huh?” He smiled when Seth inhaled sharply, apparently caught off guard. “I’m sorry, I’m kind of an idiot.”</p><p> </p><p>“Kind of?” Seth asked. He stuck his tongue out in offense. “I kissed you on the cheek and you believed me when I told you it’s something friends do!”</p><p> </p><p>“Barely! You believed me when I acted like it hadn’t sent me into a gay panic for days!”</p><p> </p><p>“No I didn’t!” Seth laughed exasperated. Huh, he thought he did a good job covering it up. “You believed my aunt about us having <em> ghosts </em>in the house. Ghosts! Nicky, I know I kept a lot of things from you that I should’ve told you about sooner but I definitely would have told you about my house being haunted.”</p><p> </p><p>“While I find that really touching, that’s not what this is about. This is about me maybe being in love with you and somehow not knowing it while you said nothing and-” Seth was looking at him weird. Why was he looking at him weird? Why were his eyes so wide? “What?” </p><p> </p><p>“Nicky?” Seth’s voice was faint. He turned around to see if something was sneaking up behind him. Nope. He brushed himself off to make sure there wasn’t a bug or something on him. Nothing.</p><p> </p><p>“What?”</p><p> </p><p>“You… you just said-” <em> Holy fuck he just said he’s maybe in love with Seth. </em>A sound like some dying animal came out of his mouth before Seth could finish. “Yeah,” Seth breathed out, as if Nick’s strangled cry summed up what he was going to say perfectly.</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t mean- I mean, I did but I didn’t mean it like- I just- You just- Bow ties and, and- Skwinkles Salsghetti and <em>oh my god</em> <em>you’re beautiful, </em>but also- holy shit I need to shut up.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, shut up…” Seth was still staring at him wide-eyed. “I mean, no don’t shut up! You’re in love with me?”</p><p> </p><p>Nick didn’t know what to say because honestly, he wasn’t really sure. How was he supposed to know? He knew he loved Seth, of course he did, but was he <em> in love? </em>They had only been dating for over a month now and everything online said it takes 6 months to fall in love. But then again, they had known each other for over a decade and who knows how long he had been crushing on Seth before he realized it? Curse his mouth for saying things without his permission! </p><p> </p><p>“I- maybe? I don’t know, I’ve never been in love before,” Nick replied quietly. Seth had a warm expression that made Nick’s cheeks warm.</p><p> </p><p>“Well… I maybe-love you too. Actually, I know I love you but I’ve been aware of my feelings for you for a long time. You don’t have to say it back.” </p><p> </p><p>And, <em> wow </em> , if that didn’t make Nick feel all sorts of things. <em> Seth loved him. </em>Seth, the most amazing person who had always been there for Nick when he could be, who knew and understood him better than anyone else, who shared Skwinkles Salsgheti with him, had just said he loved Nick. In that moment, he felt like he was flying. Maybe he could become an extraordinary just with Seth saying those three words? He wanted to say them back, more than anything. He wanted Seth to know how much he means to him, to feel the way he feels right now, but he was scared. He didn’t want to say them before he was 100% certain they were true. To say them now would feel like lying, even if they weren’t entirely untrue, and they had had enough lying in their relationship already.</p><p> </p><p>“I <em> will </em> say it,” He finally responded. “Someday, I promise. You mean so much to me, it’s just-”</p><p> </p><p>“I know. It’s okay, Nicky.” Seth didn’t look hurt or disappointed. He looked quite the opposite and Nick felt better about not being able to say those words yet.</p><p> </p><p>“Can I kiss you?” He asked instead. Seth grinned and nodded. He scooted ever on his bed to get closer, delicately placing his hand on his boyfriend’s cheek and leaned in, connecting their lips. </p><p> </p><p>Their first kiss on the spire had been invigorating. It wasn’t heated in the sense of making out but the emotions were overwhelming. Their following kisses had all been short, soft touches that sometimes lingered but never for long. This wasn’t either. It was long and slow and <em> amazing. </em>The emotions that fueled it were soft and sweet. He doubted anything could beat their first kiss, regardless of circumstance and dislocated arm. That was the moment everything finally felt right. But this kiss? It came real close.</p><p> </p><p>After a little while it became clear neither of them wanted to stop so they maneuvered closer in a more comfortable positioning, breaking apart momentarily and taking deep gasps of breath before connecting their lips again. Nick’s hand moved from Seth’s cheek to his hair and Seth’s arms were wrapped around Nick’s middle, trying to pull him impossibly closer. Seth ran his tongue across Nick’s bottom lip and he gasped. They didn’t hear someone downstairs.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Nicky! I’m home, how’s the homework coming along?” They shot apart, eyes wide. Steps could be heard coming up the stairs and they rushed to make some space between them. When Nick’s dad appeared at Nick’s bedroom door his eyebrow raised and he looked back and forth between his son and his son’s boyfriend, both failing miserably to act casual. He smirked.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Seth” He said with a nod to the boy in question.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Mr. Bell” Seth’s voice much too high. He cleared his throat. </p><p> </p><p>Aaron Bell looked between the two boys for a moment before asking, “I don’t need to give Seth a lecture on protection too, do I?” </p><p> </p><p>Seth curled over in a coughing fit and Nick glared at his dad.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my god, no! Why would you say that?!” Nick whined. He was mortified at the thought of Seth sitting at their kitchen table, watching his dad put lube on a banana with a condom just like he had been forced to do. He would do anything to save his boyfriend from that experience.</p><p> </p><p>“Just making sure you two are safe. I’m going to put my work stuff away and get dinner started. Seth’s welcome to join. I expect things to stay PG in here.” His dad gave them both a stern look, lingering on Seth before finally turning and going to his own room, adding a reminder that the door stays open.</p><p> </p><p>Nick groaned, looking up to the ceiling defeated. Seth reached out to place a comforting touch on his knee but looked to the door and thought better of it, putting his arm back into his own lap.</p><p> </p><p>Nick didn’t move for a few minutes as he whispered under his breath, plotting his revenge on his dad. When his plans got increasingly dangerous, Seth interrupted. </p><p> </p><p>“So… should we do some homework, then?” </p><p> </p><p>Nick turned his head to glare at him, but there wasn’t any heat behind it and the longer he looked at his boyfriend the harder it was to hold back a smile. Then Seth smiled awkwardly and he finally broke. He was a sucker for Seth’s awkward smiles. And all of his smiles.</p><p> </p><p>“Y’know, for a superhero, you’re really boring, babe.” </p><p> </p><p>Seth snorted, standing up. He reached for Nick’s hands who reluctantly gave them, allowing himself to be pulled up and led to his desk. Seth didn’t bring his homework so he just watched Nick, helping when necessary. It felt awkward but at least he couldn’t distract Seth from his own work. When his dad called them down for dinner, Nick was prepared for the worst. It wasn’t actually that bad, though. It was a lot like the times Seth had been over for dinner in the past, before… huh, Before. Nick hadn’t realized it had been that long. It was nice, even with his dad’s teasing. He was sad when Seth had to leave but they still planned on meeting at Seth’s house tomorrow so he decided he could deal with it. </p><p> </p><p>Laying in bed that night, his head was full of Seth like many nights before it. He would tell Seth he loves him, he told himself decidedly. Someday, hopefully soon, and he would mean it with all of his heart.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! I love these two so much, I can’t wait for the second book coming this year! I want to write Nicky telling Seth he loves him so I might add to this later on. As always, kudos/comments are super appreciated if you want to leave them and I hope you have a fantabulous day :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>